Perth Motorplex has announced a change in its management team. Ray Treasure has resigned as drag racing manager, citing the workload pressures involved in running modern drag racing operations.

One of drag racing’s veteran race cars has been lost in an on track accident.

Now knowing that former Pro Stock champion Peter Ridgway will debut his new car at the Winters, there is speculation as to the TBA entry.

Recent converts to Supercharged Outlaws McCormack Racing have signed Mr Filter – Truck & Earthmoving Superstores as a primary sponsor.

Top Fuel will face one of its most exciting championship deciders in recent years at the Castrol EDGE Winternationals (June 10-13), with just 25 points separating a three-time champion, reigning Champion and a new championship challenger in the race for the title.

Drag racing as a sport defies comparison, but to us it is more like a game of chess than of outright driving skill.

Word from a multi-championship winning Pro Stock Motorcycle team owner is that an ex-NHRA Pro Stock Motorcyle will be competing at the Winternationals.

Mildura-based Top Fuel drag racer, Darren Morgan, was the first recipient of the Louie Rapisarda Top Qualifier trophy and $2500 after top qualifying at the recent Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway (SD), Eastern Creek.

Auto One, a major sponsor of the ANDRA Pro Series recently held a competition at Motorvate Melbourne – called ‘Startline Madness’ as part of their Oi Rev Head promotion.

Two former ANDRA Pro Series champions are set to return at the Winternationals.

Despite the sportsman numbers being significantly down especially with local racers, many attributing the reason to the increase of the entry fees for this event, the quality and on track action was far from lacking as racers headed into the penultimate round of the Rocket Allstars Racing Series. The brisk cool air coinciding with killer traction resulted in 14 new records along with seven minimums entered into the books and a number of other potential records which missed back ups. Competition – Jeff Clarke The Western Australian giant killer snares first gold Christmas tree. Competition eliminator certainly had its share of variety which makes this bracket always intriguing to watch, whether it’s turbo, blown, nitrous or aspirated, Competition has your poison. Even though there was only a smallish field of 13 entrants, qualifying and racing was eventful and with a Justin Walshe and Phil Otto not in attendance the chance was there for some championship movement. Qualifying had everything, Chris Soldatos made a return and decimated the B/A index to finish on top in qualifying with a 6.93 (-.651), when Soldatos finally makes the jump into Pro Stock he should be right in the mix. Maurice Brennan was one of three sandgropers in Competition to make the trek across the land, and he followed on from his recent record setting Westernats form to qualify second with a sub record 6.107 (-.643), fellow West Aussie Jeff Clarke put down a best of 6.33 (-.414) for third but engine damage saw him miss the rest of qualifying and in doubt for eliminations.  Shane Baxter finished in fourth with a 7.115 (-.375) with the wheelstanding CC/DA of Greg Leahy close behind laying down a 6.954 (-.366) best. Mathew Lisle was the first of the turbo cars, his wicked Probe was next with an off the pace for him 6.843 (-.357) while Wayne Cartledge debuted a new A/DA which he quickly sorted to a 7.071 (-.339) and Steve Athans rounded out the top half of the field in the Haddad prepped twin turbo Mustang from Victoria 7.677 (-.303). Jason Maggs had everyone’s eyeballs popping when he rolled out his gorgeous new 2007 Corvette in BB/AP, qualifying in 9th with a 7.006 (-0.303) from the baby 315ci small block, championship contender Graeme Frawley couldn’t improve out of the 10th 7.310 (-.230) spot.  Eric Goudswaard’s C/A  struggled to 11th 7.536 (.046), Mike Nola wheelstood and shook to a great 6.81 (.062) from the nitrous Firebird, but in the brutal AA/AP class it was only good enough for 12th and Marty Dack, the last of the WA contingent, stepped his Mustang up from Outlaws but was fighting gremlins to record a 7.100 (.125) to round out the field. With the first round of racing occurring in the rapidly dropping temperatures on the Saturday night, upsets were on the cards. Soldatos easily took care of Athans who had been having trouble bring the Mustang up on boost off the line in time but it was Maggs taking out Brennan in the upset of the round after Brennan admitted he had too many launch rev’s and spun the tyres off the line. Next upset saw last qualifier Dack 7.04 (7.10) put away Cartledge’s dragster who rolled to the finish and Nike Nola completed the upset in a nitrous vs turbo battle against a red lighting Lisle. Clarke 6.21 (6.75) had a easy win over Frawley who got very loose, crossing lanes and nudged the wall and Leahy 7.008 (7.32) wrapped up the first round of eliminations putting Goudswaard on the trailer. Clarke had given his index a solid touch up in round one and he gave it another severe bruising in round two running a great sub record 5.90 (6.48) against Dack who ran his best ET of the weekend 6.97 (7.07), Maggs 7.10 (7.12) overcame a fast charging Nola who also recorded his best lap 6.72 (6.75) and the final pairing of the round saw a sub index battle between Soldatos and Leahy, the result was a index bashing win to the flying altered from Victoria 6.93 (7.51) to the dragsters 6.93 (7.16). The semi finals were two solo affairs, Maggs unfortunately had a throttle stick in the burnout and drove it around the bottom end safely to a stop against Clarke who still made a full pull in the Hogs Breath Cafe dragster to a 5.98 and Soldatos just put the altered into stage take the win through to the final. Both racers had given their respective indexes a smashing through eliminations, Clarke had been consistently running under the national record and again in the final Clark lowered the record mark for BB/D a even further to 5.87 on the 6.32 index which was far too good for Soldatos 6.96 (7.26) giving an ecstatic Clarke his first gold christmas tree and a outside chance in the championship. Super Stock – Ralph Perri Perri’s Pontiac takes the Andrew Rowe Memorial title The Super Stock tin tops have been making a resurgence of late and with 19 cars entered, all the championship contenders in the pits and the highly prized Andrew Rowe Memorial trophy on offer, it would ensure a take no prisoners qualifying battle. And qualifying did not disappoint, five cars were under the national record at its conclusion. Steve Norman’s A/GA Firebird bettered the record the furthest by a massive .647 of a second with a 7.38, closely followed by the F/G Camaro of Alex Panagiotidis 8.99 (-.632), Kevin Manger’s A/MP  Pontiac 8.59 (-.613), the B/MSA VS Commodore of Jim Ioannidis 9.58 (-.588) and Adamo Spinozzi was the last of the sub record cars in qualifying with the Chevy S-10 ute 7.66 (.-.544). Paul Beauchamp’s B/GA Firebird was poised in 6th 7.73 (-.478) with Nino Cavallo lurking in 7th with a 8.14 (-.473) and Robert Dekert perfectly qualified his striking Cavalier in 8th 8.21 (-.466). The bottom half of the field was packed full of front runners which would guarantee a cracking first round of racing, Ralph Perri 7.16 (-.464), Omar Sedmak 7.17 (-.451), Nick Karantonis

Mark Mariani took out his first-ever Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) Pro Series title when he won Top Fuel at the recent Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway (SD), Eastern Creek.

Round Two of the Nitro Magazine South Queensland Eighth Mile Drag Racing Series has seen more than 100 racers hit Ironbark Raceway at the weekend.

58 teams paid respect to the late Beat the Heat crew chief, John Sorensen on Friday night at Hidden Valley Drag Strip as part of the Hogs Breath Cafe John Sorensen Memorial.

During their April meeting, the National Control Council of the Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) commissioned a new project.

After almost 20 years as major sponsor of Australian drag racing legend Victor Bray and his multi-ANDRA Championship-winning team, a change in investment priorities will see Castrol relinquish naming rights sponsorship of Team Bray Racing at the end of 2010.

100 Proof blown FED of George Zammit is set for its comeback.

DNA has been informed that a very popular drag racer has lost his long time sponsorship.

Chris Tynan and the Century Batteries 55 Chev are living proof that “Murphy’s Law” is alive and well!

Three times Aussie Top Fuel Champion Phil Read made it into another consecutive final.

As from today, Pro Street racers Simon Kryger, Johnny Wilson, and John Habib have purchased the A.P.S.A from founder Anthony Di Fabio.

We may see a change in Top Doorslammer rides very soon.

Local father and son team Laurie and Garth Fitzgerald will be just two racers of many expected to front up this weekend at Ironbark Raceway.  

Ironbark Raceway Roma will be running a Supercharged Outlaw bracket in conjunction with the Nitro Magazine Eighth Mile Series on Saturday 15th May.

Willowbank Raceway has released the draft schedule for the upcoming Winternationals.

After setting their quickest pass of the season so far during qualifying for the Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway Darren Morgan Racing (DMR) entered Eliminations among the favourites for the title but it wasn’t to be as the AEG Dragster was knocked out in the Semi Finals by eventual winner Mark Mariani.

The desire to go nitro racing is one many drag racers have, but there is more to nitro than ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel.

The lights are set to drop and the fun begins at the JSM John Sorensen Memorial on Friday 14 May at Hidden Valley Drag Strip.  The third event in the Beat the Heat Off Street Series is sure to pull a hungry crowd.

With Australia’s biggest drag racing event – the Winternationals – coming up, Drag News Australia is excited to have Willowbank Raceway aboard as a new sponsor.

 As required by the ANDRA Constitution, “half elections” are held annually in each Division for Delegate positions on the six Divisional Councils. At the same time each year, elections are conducted for three of the six Division Director positions. In 2010, this occurred formally in South Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. In Northern Australia, a Division Director election was necessary with the resignation of David Barrett in 2009.